>> barack obama won this election by very effectively making this a referendum about his opponent, mitt romney. so if you went out and you asked most americans, do you think barack obama did a great job in his first term? do you want significantly higher taxes? do you want the government to do nothing about spending? are you happy with obamacare? most would say no, but in the end the choice was between a president who said things aren't great, but i'm still going to try to make them better and a guy he painted as not having a plan and not identifying with the average wants and needs of middle class americans and in the end, people decided to stick with the devil they knew rather than the one they didn't. >> paul: so the election, the republican defeat was big, but it wasn't overwhelming in a sense of repudiation, kim, as far as a republican platform and their agenda? >> no, i think the reason, look, this country had the opportunity in this election to once again hand completely controlled government to democrats. everyone in the house was up for reelection and yet, they continued to giv